Leaders call for calm amid tension in Laikipia
By Wanjira Wachira, December 16, 2025Days after Laikipia residents were issued an ultimatum to surrender all illegal firearms, political leaders have ramped up efforts to shun divisive politics as part of a mechanism to ensure peace in insecurity prone area.
Led by Laikipia North Member of Parliament (MP), Sarah Korere, the leaders have warned against tribal utterances that have long fueled tension on the border between Meru and Laikipia.
Speaking during a peace and unity promotion meeting at Ngare Ndare, a centre at the border of Laikipia and Meru County, on Monday, December 15, 2025, the legislator noted that every person has the right to own land legally in every part of this country, and politicians who incite people against each other should be kept off at all costs.
“I am here to remind my people that it doesn’t matter your tribe; you can live and own land anywhere in Kenya. The Maa community, originally from Laikipia, have the right to live in Meru and any other county of choice,” Korere said.
“It is sad that we are still discussing tribalism and who should live where in this era. The people of Laikipia North have lived in harmony for decades, and a tribal card should be discouraged. Boundaries should not dictate wars but should be used to learn to coexist.”
Co-existing
The MP added that it is high time leaders learnt to unite and not incite people, especially as the country gears towards elections.
“As leaders, we should come together and bring development to our people and not divide our people. Everyone has a right to belong to a tribe, and so is the right to live freely anywhere in Kenya.”
Korere called out to leaders to watch what they say to the public and avoid words that may cause tension and panic in certain regions.
Elders from the region held this meeting to urge residents who have lived in harmony for decades to continue preaching peace despite having come from different communities.
The elders are optimistic that the peace they have enjoyed for years will prevail and shame whoever might be looking for trouble in the region.
Murkomen on insecurity
The calls for peace came days after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said that the government is intensifying its security operations in Laikipia County with plans to establish two additional camps aimed at flushing out bandits hiding in Mukogodo Forest.
Murkomen said the two camps will be established at Seeki and Kajicho areas and that the process is at its final stages.
Speaking during the Jukwaa La Usalama engagement in Nanyuki, Laikipia County, Murkomen explained that the establishment of the camps is part of a broader plan by the government to tackle the threat posed by cattle rustling and banditry attacks.
This, he said, includes the opening up of roads and other infrastructural projects.
“The terrain of Samburu East is inaccessible. One of the solutions is to work on the infrastructure, and as I said, the Ministry of Roads is trying to allocate resources, and we would like to see that area is more accessible for security operations,” Murkomen said.
“We established the second command centres for the Operation Maliza Ualifu in Kirimon, which is in this county. The process of establishing is almost complete, the construction of the camp and so forth,” he added.